Global Exchange's Most Wanted Human Rights Violators in the Corporate World

The new list of the top human rights violating corporations has been published at:
http://www.globalexchange.org/getInvolved/corporateHRviolators.html

And for those of you defending Wal-mart, take a peak! Remember, the goal is reform, not destruction.

Working hard...

I've had three interviews in the past few weeks, and two of them went very well. I may be employed by the new year yet! Getting lots of work done on the Full Belly Project and I'm also blogging for them now on the Full Belly Blog Be sure to sign up for the mailing list if you haven't already by sending an email to enews@fullbellyproject.org with Subject: Add To Mailing List

Not much else to report, working hard to find a job as usual...

To be, but what to be...

Yes, I definetly want to be as opposed to not to be, but what to be is the real question. With grad school, a real job, two non-profit board positions, and several activist groups, I'm back to being overcommitted. I have to make some cuts, and I just don't know where I'm going to do it. Each activity feels a different need in my life, and I don't know how to change that. Currently I'm trying to just cut back involvement and work more effectively to reduce the time required. But its hard to do that when you are involved in such great things. I guess I'll have to keep playing it by ear, but I'm always nervous about not planning ahead.

In other news, I'm learning more and more by the day about economics, and seeing the power it offers as a tool for positive change. I was talking with someone tonight, and it is true that there are all kinds of economist's out there yaking about how to fix things...for every one that says one thing there are two others that say the opposite...but I feel that its a matter of working at the pragmatic level. Create a model of the local economy, look at the factors influencing it, and figure out how to fix the problems. When there is economic stability, political and societal stability follow. I know that sounds like a capatilistic way of looking at it, but then aren't most motivated by capital? I think George Soros has taught me the valuable lesson of using capital as a positive force, rather than the greed powering machine it can be.

Positive thoughts of change and progressive steps to the future flood my head. A long road, yes; a difficult road, yes; impossible, no.

You never really know do you?

Its almost comical, but every time I think I know something, I'm reminded that I have no clue. I'm 27 now, and I still don't even know about all of the programs at my own university. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true.

My evolution as a participant in academia (for lack of a better term) has been a continual growth along a very weird path. In fact, I often think of it in terms of knowing the path and not being able to follow it. I get this visual image of myself running through the bushes at full speed, ripping flesh off and continually tripping, when the path is just a few feet to my left the whole time.

I guess having recognized that is a start, but it feels kind of like I finally graduated kindergarten at 27. Think I'll make it to high school by 90?

I recently met a very interesting person, who turned out to be a librarian at UNCW. Now, I don't know what things are like where you come from, but here, librarians are a lot more interesting. When I was growing up the librarian was the mean old lady that always bugged you about checking out books on vampires and told you to read some Tom Sawyer. Now, I admit that I probably would be a great deal more intelligent if I had taken her advice, but vampires are cool. Of course, that knowledge has never really proved useful, and I outgrew the vampire facination by middle school, so maybe she was right. Regardless, the point is that I think most people back in my home town view librarians as public servants that are working blue collar jobs. I actually believed that, but a slow metamorphosis of that image has occurred in my time at UNCW.

It began when I was doing some research and asked about a reference I was unsure of. Keep in mind that I'm a VERY solitary person (with research anyway), and asking for help rarely occurs in academic work. In fact, this whole story of my first question for help at the library took place the third year I was at school! So I tell the woman my quagmire, and wait for some standard answer that doesn't help and reminds me why I never ask. Instead, I get a question, "What are you really trying to find out?" Now I'm thinking, oh great, now she's going to tell me how to really do research. I appease her and answer that I'm trying to find some numbers so I can compare statistics of such and such...she replies, "Oh, there is a set of books that already has the statistical analysis on that done." !!! Needless to say, I lost about half of my negative and arrogant attitude that day. And I learned that librarians are a great deal more than just blue collar workers.

So what the hell am I talking about...this person I met, who is a librarian, is completely amazing, and therefore a complete suprise. I checked out her webpage to learn more about her, and found that she has worked on all these amazing projects with Native American's and the Women's Resource Center and the community book club for Wilmington and on and on....

So now I must restate the learning:
(1) Librarians are actually keepers of information, that probably know better than I do, how to find something out.

(2) Arrogance and minimal intelligence are bad combinations.

(3) I have more to learn than years to learn it, I better get started.

Peace

And now I'm back, from outer space...

Once again I have decided to move back to blog land and isolate my webpage and blog from each other. Sometimes I get a little controversial, and now that I'm applying for big boy jobs again, thats not such a great idea. So I'm back, and probably to stay. In addition, I'm going to make a dilligent effort to write in my blog at least once a week. I know some of you are going crazy wondering whats up, and I can barely remember yesterday. So I've scheduled time once a week to write, with a fall back day. I may write more, but at least once a week for sure.

In a vain effort to get everyone caught up, I will attempt to summarize the last few weeks. There has been a great deal of action on all fronts.

First, the big picture. After even more reading and studies, long conversations, and meetings with interesting peoples, the master plan has altered slightly yet again. Currently I will be graduating this may, with my BS in Computer Science and minors in Math and Psychology. In the fall of '06 I will begin, assuming I get accepted, the Masters in Public Administration program at UNCW. Thats basically like an MBA, the business management degree, but for non-profits and government entities. After that, I am currently contemplating going into a Ph.D. program in Economics, but that is completely up in the air right now as I haven't had a single economics course yet to know if I even like it. More about that in the future.

In the non-profit realm, I am now on the board of two official 501(c)(3) non-profits here in Wilmington. The Full Belly Project (http://www.fullbellyproject.org), and the South Eastern Alliance for Community Change (I haven't created their website yet) aka SEACC. I think you all know about the Full Belly Project, if not, check out the website. SEACC is a group that works for community change, by working with local non-profits to help them succeed. I just joined the board, and there are already great things happening. Again, more on that in future posts. I am also being considered for the board of Cape Fear Biofuels, a local cooperative that is forming to provide alternative fuels to gasoline. To learn more about Biofuels, check out http://www.biofuels.coop I will be helping with their website as well, which is also not up yet as I just started.

In activism, Amnesty International at UNCW has been going very well. We are continually recruiting new members, and we had a great year of events. For more, see our website at http://www.aiuncw.org On the peace front, a few friends from Wilmington Peace Meetup (http://peace.meetup.com/96/) and I are working on creating some revolutionary new internet services to empower activists and help eliminate the information overflow from all the action alerts many of us receive. I'll keep you posted on that.

On the health front, for the first thanksgiving ever, I actually LOST weight! Evie and I are working out on a regular basis, and we are both losing weight and have kept it off. Go us!

You probably all want to know whats happening on the job front, because there are some MAJOR developments. But you'll have to tune in next time for that!

I'll leave you with a picture from our last Amnesty International event, a showing of Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price that drew over 300 people!!!